WINONA, Minn. – Junior Joy Brandenstein matched her season high with 17 points in the St. Olaf College women's basketball team's 81-44 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) road loss to Saint Mary's University on Wednesday night at David R. Thies Arena.

Brandenstein shot 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-5 at the free-throw line for St. Olaf (5-11, 0-9 MIAC), which was plagued by foul trouble and turnovers in the loss to Saint Mary's (13-4, 7-2 MIAC). The Cardinals, who started the night in a five-way tie for second in the MIAC but were coming off a loss to eighth-place St. Catherine University, shot 54.7 percent (29-for-53) from the field in the win.

Brandenstein's 17-point performance matched her output from Jan. 3 against Carleton College and was one point shy of her career high of 18 set at Central College on Nov. 8, 2024. First year Erin Schauer was the only other Ole in double figures with 10 points on 4-for-5 from the field. Junior Bree Wilkerson and sophomore Elise Hahn added nine and seven points, respectively, as Brandenstein, Schauer, Wilkerson, and Hahn accounted for 43 of the Oles' 45 points.

Hahn, Wilkerson, and sophomore Grace Gertner battled foul trouble throughout the night, with Hahn fouling out with 2:51 to go in the third quarter and Gertner and Wilkerson fouling out with over five minutes to go in the fourth. Saint Mary's got to the free-throw line 27 times on the night but made just 15-of-27 (55.6 percent) of its attempts from the charity stripe.

Ayla Olson led four Cardinals in double figures with 21 points on 7-for-9 from the field and 5-for-8 at the free-throw line. Brianna Nusbaum and Rylie Sternquist totaled 16 points apiece for the hosts, who scored 42 points in the paint, 32 points off turnovers and 23 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds.

St. Olaf opened the scoring on a layup by Hahn 1:02 in before going scoreless for nearly eight minutes during a 13-0 Saint Mary's run. Brandenstein snapped the drought with a three-point play, but the Cardinals used a 10-0 advantage in points off turnovers and a 7-0 advantage in second-chance points to take a 16-7 lead into the second. Saint Mary's forced nine turnovers and grabbed second offensive rebounds in the quarter.

Two layups by Hahn in the first minute of the second quarter kept St. Olaf within seven, but the Cardinals went on a 9-0 run shortly thereafter to open up a 29-13 lead and led by at least 13 the rest of the game. Olson scored 12 second-quarter points to held Saint Mary's push its lead to 36-20 at the break after the Cardinals hit seven of their last eight field goals of the half.

St. Olaf will return home to face Hamline University in a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, Jan. 24 at Skoglund Center.